--Planet AvP | Mod of the Week | Red Dwarf Mod

Red Dwarf Mod Name: Red Dwarf Mod Author: Matthew C. Harris Download: reddwarfmod.zip Reviewed By: Praetor Introduction Many of our readers from England, and other parts of Europe, may know of a witty television show that was created several years ago called Red Dwarf. The theme of this new mod is based entirely on this hilarious series, and will not doubt use laughter to silence the vicious snarls of those angry Aliens. Although none of the original cast made an appearance in this mod, we can’t forget that our favorite hologram friend, Rimmer, is still a smeg-head! Basics The Red Dwarf Mod is essentially a mod for the Marine section of AvP2. It is unlike most mods out there in that it doesn’t change player classes or game modes, but focuses on giving a new appearance to the game based on the television show. A fabulous new HUD has been created, along with a couple of excellent skins, and, perhaps the most popular, a brand-spanking new weapon! You basically play out the Marine campaign in the same manner as in the standard AvP2 game, including how you progress through the levels and enemies you encounter, but are treated with the previously mentioned features. Advertisement Missions No new missions are included. This mod can be used for any Marine mission featured in the game. Player Classes The changes made to the Marine player classes are shown first in the form of skins. Our Marine hero, Harrison, has been given a completely new outfit, which is based on the Canaries’ uniform from Series 8 of the show. It is a black uniform (pants and a short-sleeved shirt), along with an arrangement of bright yellow attire, which includes shin pads, belt objects, and shoulder pads. While playing in the early missions, you will also notice that Shugi’s uniform has been given a slight alteration. He wears bright yellow shin pads similar to those given to Harrison, but the rest of his uniform is unchanged. While the new Harrison skin is very good, it doesn’t keep to the theme of the mod when the only skins you see during the actual game-play are the standard Marine uniforms. A complete set of new skins based on the Canaries’ uniform for the Marine characters would have greatly enhanced the feel of the show. The second addition to Marine player classes is one that has yet to make a prominent appearance in the mod community. It is the inclusion of a new weapon, the Bazookoid! This weapon is based on the Series 6 Mark 1 Version. Replacing the Shotgun, the Bazookoid is like a mini laser-explosive type weapon, and is the most powerful weapon in the Marine's arsenal. It fires a green projectile, which upon contact with an object produces a massive explosive with a large blast radius. Be warned; this is not for close encounters! Other Info The most noticeable change that has been made is the creation of a new Marine HUD (Heads-Up Display). This isn’t just a simple colour or picture change, but rather it replaces everything! The Health Meter has been changed to a human figure. The numerical value is shown in white. With full health, the figure is filled head to toe with white gridlines. As health is diminished, the gridlines will begin to disappear from top to bottom, with no gridlines representing 0 health. The Armor Counter is shown as the tilted red circle from the logo, which wraps around the human figured Health Meter. The numerical value is shown in red. With full armor, the circle is complete and wraps around the entire figure. As armor is drained, the circle slowly begins to disappear from top to bottom, with no circle representing 0 armor. Also, the bluish hue that is makes up the majority of the standard HUD has been changed to a light green colour. This includes the Flare Counter, Weapon Select Icons, Objective Indicator, and the Motion Tracker. Along with the green colour change is the Battery Meter, which has also changed from a plain rectangular shape to several compiled small, oval shapes. Last, but not least, comes the targeting crosshair when placed on an object you can interact with. It has been changed to the tilted circle that is featured on the logo. Minor changes that have been made include a new Ammo Box, which displays the Red Dwarf logo on the front side, and a new background image for the Custom Levels menu and the Loading screen for online games. Technical Known problems that occur with this mod have been involved with accessing game files that recognize the Shotgun in the game rather than the new Bazookoid. Trying to load previously saved games, which were created without the mod enabled, will cause the game to freeze-up. This also occurs in multi-player gaming if you try to select the Shotgun from the Weapon Select menu. Final Thoughts This mod brings the ideas from the extremely funny television show to the Aliens vs. Predator world, and does a fine job in doing so. It does a wonderful job replacing the Marine HUD, and including a fine looking skin. A complete set of new Marine skins would have been a nice touch, though. The new weapon was a blast to play around with. It certainly gives a whole new meaning to the term “trigger-happy” when you’ve been given that amount of power in a weapon. Again, technical issues have arisen regarding the inclusion of it. Overall, the mod was very well done, and I would recommend it to both Red Dwarf fans and anyone looking to try out some fantastic goodies for the Marine. Final Score: Download: reddwarfmod.zip By Praetor Comments? Flames? Praise? Mail feedback!